Maca Banana Date Nut Muffins

In the journey of living my best life, I have been focused on plant-based vegan gluten-free baking, so I made some tweaks and very happy with the results. 

I use coconut oil in the muffins and I replaced the sugar with maple syrup. I love to use natural sweeteners like maple syrup and honey in my baking. The wonderful thing is it makes it easy to add plant-based powders into the baking. The moisture from the natural sweeteners is balanced by the plant powders to create a wonderful healthy edible. 

Maca was the plant that I was inspired to use in this recipe. Maca is also known as Peruvian Ginseng and is indigenous to South America, specifically the Andes in Peru. The root can be ground into a powder and has been used to support the body in a number of ways including energy, balancing hormones, mental and physical vitality as well as being high in potassium and calcium. 

I switched out the all-purpose flour for a Trader Joe’s gluten-free blend I have been playing with. I have to admit I have not been that open to going gluten-free, but during a health consultation it was suggested. In the spirit of taking suggestions I have been trying to get the hang of gluten-free baking. While I have had issues with making a gluten-free cookie that I love as much as my gluten-packed ones, I was very pleased with how these muffins came out. 

Another focus of mine has to be more intentional, so the act of writing down my ingredients and making notes was significant for me. I often make my own version of a recipe and have relied on my memory to recall all the details with half-hatched results. 
 

Here is my final recipe, if you would like to try it, or make your own  version as well! 

Let me know if you try them and what you think!